The Iron Rose
by An Unknown Reader
Summary: After a failed attempt to bring Sasuke back to the village can Naruto and Sakura come to terms with their feelings for one another with a little help from a canary, a raven and a rose. Rated T to be safe.


Rain, pouring rain. It was not raining now but it had been then, then when she had seen him, he Naruto Uzumaki; the blond haired shinobi. The same shinobi that she now held in her arms. Yes the rain, it had soaked his body, she had felt it in his black and orange jumpsuit as she began her ministrations. And then it had begun to rain, except this time it came not from the sky above, but from her jade green eyes. Yes Sakura Haruno's tears had burst forth from the great wells that resided adjacent to her eyes. She cried tears of joy because Naruto had not died and had not left her alone in the world. She cried because he had not been made a victim of his quest to return Sasuke (the man responsible for his injuries) back to the village. And she was still crying now as they slowly trudged home, on the back of the giant slug: Katsuyu. Her tears had not abated and still they flowed forth dripping from her chin and falling onto her crimson shirt. Every now and then her body would give a shudder as she let out a sob of anguish because of the thought of what she could have lost that day. A fellow ninja…. a teammate… a partner… a friend… her best friend… a shoulder she could cry into… someone who could make her laugh cry and get angry seemingly at will… someone she didn't know if she could survive without. She had almost lost all of these that day. All of these people in one person. That person she found in her arms at that moment.

"Sa...ku...ra...-chan," came a weak voice that jarred Sakura from her thoughts.

"Yes Naruto-kun," She responded with her attentions now fixed on the blond in her arms.

He motioned for her to come closer as he whispered into her ear.

"Tell… me… a… story," he asked with a hint of pleading in his voice.

"What kind of story Naruto-kun?"

"Any….kind….just...make it …a good one …Sakura...chan,"

"Okay Naruto-kun, just give me a second."

She racked her brains, trying to think of something to tell him. She didn't know if she wanted it to be a funny story or a sad one. Then it came to her, she just had to figure out where to begin. Once she had composed herself, she cleared her throat, and began.

"Once upon a time, there was a meadow, a meadow obscured and hidden away among the leaves. And in this meadow there was… a rose. The rose had many companions in the meadow; there were the lilacs, the lilies and a whole plethora of other flowers. But there was one creature that the rose longed to be with more than any. A bird, a dark bird, a raven; everyday she would open up her petals and hope that from his perch up in a tree he would notice her. Little could she notice the canary, the canary would strut about like a fool and fall from branch and poke holes in branch of trees. Many of the other birds and the flowers for that matter thought that he was a nuisance but few knew that he did all of it to try to get the attention of the one he sought after; the rose,"

At this point Sakura paused, trying to figure out where see wanted the story to go from there.

"Sakura- Chan who does the rose chose in the end?" Naruto asked his voice strengthening.

"I can't tell you. Naruto-kun, it would ruin the story now shall I continue?" Sakura replied.

"Okay," Said Naruto

"Well anyway, the rose and the raven and the canary whether by pure chance or fate or maybe destiny all became best friends and though they were friends, this did not change how the rose felt for the raven or how the canary felt for the rose. For many moons the trio stayed together until as always happens. They broke apart. It began with the raven. He sought out the snake and the two of them went left the meadow and began to do who knows what. Than the canary seeking the power not only bring his friend the canary back but also to protect all of the inhabitants sought out the help of the frog. And the rose found herself alone. Though she had pleaded for them both to stay, they left. They left her all alone without that closest of friendships that everyone needs. That winter was a long and cold one. At the hands of her teacher, the slug the rose faced many hardships but from those hardships she became harder, her soft petals hid an entire that could be hard and cold to unwanted invaders but to her friends and loved ones she was still kind tender and affectionate. Her steely interior earned her a nickname: the iron rose."

"Iron rose that's a-," Naruto began but he was silenced by Sakura's finger on his lips.

"Shh, Naruto-kun let me finish,"

"When the spring returned it brought back with it many things, warmth in the air, buds on the trees and the rose found herself yearning to be with her two friends the raven and the canary. Only one would return. The canary came back to the meadow, time had made his plumage grow even more beautiful and his wings had become even more stout and strong but still remained that twinkling in his eyes. Gone forever was the foolish chick, here now is a fully grown bird his appearance seemed to say. The return of the canary troubled the rose. She felt a stirring of emotion from within herself and though at first she thought it was merely joy or happiness she soon realized that it was something else something she could not quite make out. She wanted to be with the canary as much as possible and for a time they were happy. Many creatures threatened the meadow but the canary fought them off and soon he was revered and treated with deference by all of the inhabitants. But the canary himself still yearned for his long lost friend and went out to search for him many times, but the raven did not wish to return to the meadow and so they fought. They fought many battles, each one longer and more epic than the last."

At this point Naruto had moved out of Sakura's arms and was sitting opposite of her cross legged. Sakura found herself missing his warmth and his touch already but continued to tell the story.

"Then finally after a particularly long battle the canary returned to the village with the raven. He was beaten up and hurt and he fell at the roots of his precious iron rose. He stayed there for a while in the flowery arms of his loved one. And the rose looked down at him with tenderness and affection and something else. It was that thing that she had felt in her heart for him ever since he had returned it was-,"

"Neh, Sakura-chan. This story seems kind of familiar." Said Naruto. Then he paused, as if he was waiting for one her outbursts. He looked up at her and to his surprise he saw her looking down into her lap with tears flowing slowly from her eyes. He swiftly got onto his hands and knees and crawled over to her and took her by the hand with one hand and with his other lifter her chin until he was looking into her eyes.

"It's okay Sakura-chan. I still thought your story was lovely, I'm sorry I made the con-,"

"Don't be sorry (sniff) Naruto-baka. (Sniff, sniff)I'm the one who should be sorry. (Sniff)I've been ignoring (sniff) and hurting (sniff) you and yet you still don't hate me,"

"You know I'd never-,"

"That's just makes it worse."

"Sakura-Chan you know I still care for you. I always have, I'm sorry I pointed the simil-,"

"Naruto-baka don't you get it. I wanted you to find the connection, to realize that I was the rose, and Sasuke was the raven and that you were the canary. I've been waiting for a long time to do something like this," She said, her eyes having used up all of their tears.

There was silence as the meaning of Sakura's words hit Naruto as his eyes widened and then closed and then he looked into his lap. The silence lasted for a couple of seconds when Naruto looked up at her. There were no tears now no sniffling, all Naruto could see was a look of affection and tenderness and something he couldn't quite interpret and determination as if whatever happened, they were going to do this now , they were going to confess that very instant,"

"You know Sakura-Chan," he whispered with a smile "I've been waiting to hear something like that for a long time. But what about Sas-"

"Naruto-kun I don't love him anymore. I've learned to read what my heart truly feels and I'm not going to deny it anymore," she whispered back with a smile as her arms snake forward and wrapped themselves around the blonds' neck,"

"I have one more question… what was that thing that the rose found within herself at the end of the story," Inquired a grinning Naruto as his hands found their place on her waist, a place that they had longed to be.

As she moved in closer to him she answered "I thought you had figured that out already Naruto-kun,"

"Maybe I just want to hear you say it. So what was it?" asked Naruto as he moved so close to her he could practically taste her lips.

"As you wish Naruto-kun, the end of the story, when she looked inside of herself, the canary found… LOVE,"

And then for the first and most certainly not the last time, their lips met and they joined together in a passionate embrace. The other rider of the giant slug another blond looked back at the two of them. A smile crept onto the Hokage's face.

"They took long enough, eh Jiraiya-kun,"

THE END

Hello readers this is An Unknown reader, most of you probably don't know who I am. That is probably due to the fact that this is my first time ever writing fan fiction. Please review, I will accept any comments that you give me praise or flames because up from the ashes grow the roses of success as they say. Although I might add, please try to keep a lid on the profane language (there could be children reading it). This is my first fan fiction and if all goes well it shall not be my last. Well it seems our short time together has come to an end. I leave you with this final message.

_"If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing." ~ B. Franklin_

Happy Holidays and Happy Reading

-Most Sincerely,

An Unknown Reader


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